D+
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys let Carter fall into their laps, and walked away with a D+.
by Pastor ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 18 picks
· 8 steals
· 6 reaches
The Cowboys put a flag in the ground for Cade Klubnik, 44 picks before anyone else would have, and the value took the hit.
They handed away value on the phones that the picks cannot earn back. The Carter value carries more weight than any single miss elsewhere.
The veteran additions, Jerry Jeudy chief among them, give the class a floor the rookies alone would not. The future picks help the war chest more than the win-now roster.
A rough weekend that leaves the roster with more questions than answers.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a workhorse for the backfield at fair value. A clean fit for the roster.
In pick No. 14 they get juice off the edge, though they paid up to get him. Need was not the driver here.
In the 25th overall pick they get a coverage-and-run second-level piece. The biggest hole, addressed.
The board had Nick Emmanwori higher than Round 2, Pick 2, and the safety fell to them anyway. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Nice patience on Kenneth Grant, who had no business lasting to pick 38. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
You do not let an offensive lineman like Tate Ratledge reach the Round 2 slot and blink. They did not. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
The board had cheaper options than Grey Zabel at Round 2, Pick 21, and it noticed. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Jalen Royals at No. 64 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Alfred Collins in pick No. 65 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A need, and now a little less of one.
A real head-scratcher, Danny Stutsman in the 70th overall pick is miles ahead of his ranking. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Andrew Mukuba at the 88th pick is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
Tyler Warren at slot 94 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They talked themselves into Cade Klubnik at No. 96, and the board did not agree. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Taking Maxwell Hairston in pick 124 is close to grand larceny; a cornerback that good had no business lasting this long. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A top-tier linebacker at a bargain, Barrett Carter in pick No. 135, plain and simple. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Steal is underselling it; Nicholas Singleton at Round 4, Pick 37 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A reach on Raheim Sanders in slot 139; the board had better options right there. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Jamon Dumas-Johnson well ahead of where he belonged. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.